Fitness: Get a deeper squat with this one mobility stretch

If you don’t do some proper stretching, your mobility can be impaired and your squats, lunges, and rows will suffer as a result.

We admit it: we don’t stretch enough, even though we know that failing to stretch can lead to headaches and other complications after a workout.

If you don’t do some proper stretching, your mobility can be impaired and your squats, lunges, and rows will suffer as a result.

So Samantha Ciaccia, a coach at Body Space Fitness, came in and showed us how to do one of her favorite stretches to improve mobility. You can learn how to do it in the video above.

“I’m going to show you one move you’re probably not doing that is going to increase your mobility in your ankle and your hips,” she says.

Get in a kneeling position and rotate your leg out to the side. Grab the nearest kettle bell—but keep it light—and make sure your shoulders are back and upright.

Start the stretch by tracking your knee over your toe and leaning into the ankle—without your heel coming up.

“If this feels good, you’re going to come back up and just track your heel in a little bit closer,” Ciaccia says. She likes to count by breaths, and recommends taking five deep breaths every time you exhale, so you can go deeper into the stretch.

“I would recommend trying three times on each leg,” Ciaccia says. “This is a great move for increasing the mobility of your squats, your pistols, as well as on the row machine.”

We can’t wait to workout with our new ankles and increased mobility. We’re sure we’ll be looking at the squat rack in a whole new way.